Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue Retreat for Girls

Retreats are a great way to engage with your faith, to reconnect with God, to find quiet and time for prayer, and to learn more about who Christ is and who you are in His sight.  We routinely hear about retreats offered for adults or teens, but what about retreats for kids?  While they will be a little different in nature, I think retreats for kiddos can be a great way for them to engage, reconnect, learn, and pray. 

Some other examples of retreats that we have offered include one for boys about the Armor of God and another for girls that we called our Princess Celebration.  The same summer as the Armor of God retreat, we hosted a girls retreat called Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue.

Do you know this poem?  It was made popular by Archbishop Fulton Sheen:

Lovely Lady dressed in blue–—

       teach me how to pray!

God was just your little Boy,

     tell me what to say!

Did you lift Him up, sometimes,

     gently, on your knee?

Did you sing to Him

     the way Mother does to me?

Did you hold His hand at night?

Did you ever try telling stories of the world?

O! And did He cry?

Do you really think He cares

     if I tell Him things–—

Little things that happen?

And Do the Angels’ wings make a noise?

And can He hear me if I speak low?

Does He understand me now?

Tell me–—for you know!

Lovely Lady dressed in blue,

     teach me how to pray!

God was just your little Boy,

     and you know the way.

Author:  Mary Dixon Thayer

The Child On His Knees, pages 24 and 25, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1926

Based on this beautiful and sweet poem/prayer, we wanted to have an afternoon where the girls could learn more about our Mother Mary, about how she can be a guide and model Christian for us, and how she shows us all the dignity of being a daughter of God.

We invited the girls in our (small) CCD program Preschool-6th grade, and asked the junior and senior high girls to come and help.  I am a huge advocate of multi age events- everyone learns, everyone participates, everyone wins!

The event was three hours long on a Saturday afternoon.  The girls and helpers were all invited to wear something blue in honor of Mary, and many chose to dress up a little.  During the day, the main project was to make a personal Mary Shrine.  Many time I like to have several hands on activities that the kids move between, but that large multi part activity was enough. 

We also had a guest speaker.  A friend of mine came and talked about how Mary has been a model for her of what it means to be a young lady.  She even brought her beautiful toddler daughter along and talked about how she teaches her about Mary and femininity. 

The afternoon ended with some quiet time in the church and a special prayer asking Mary to help all of the ladies present to model her more and more so that we can be draw closer to her Son.

I have many pictures from the day, but most have kiddos in them that I won't share here, so the pickings are slim. :) Sorry about that, but here are a few shots of the activities:

Food is also important, so for snacks we had blue kool-aid, and blue jello,

and blueberries,

and cupcakes with blue sprinkles.

We read and prayed the Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue poem. A full page coloring page printable can be found here or you can use the three per page bookmarks by clicking on the image below.

You can hear Sheen recite the poem at the very end of this great talk on Mary:

We put together these goody bags that had lots of coloring and activity pages to take home, and a rosary, and some other fun things.  The bags were just lunch sacks decorated with a copy of the poem printed on blue paper.

The main event of the day was making this Marian lapbook with a pop up shrine, complete with a statue, roses, and candles.

All of the instructions for the lapbook shrines can be found in this post or by clicking on any of these images.

It really was a lovely day, celebrating Mary, and reminding a group of girls how lovely they are in God's eyes.  I recommend planning a retreat for some little ladies in your life!

Favorite Books About Mary + A Playlist

It's May, so Mary and Mothers are common themes in Catholic classrooms and homes.  I reserve our special Mary activities and lessons for the month of May, but I also like to enrich my students understanding with both literature and music.  Here are a few of our favorite books and songs about Mary!

First up, a playlist:  Click on the image below for a YouTube playlist of some great and fun and sacred Marian music.  The videos...meh, but the music is lovely.  I turn this on in my classroom just for the sound, not on the SmartBoard for the students.  What would you add?  What great Marian songs are we missing?

And our favorite books: I pull these books from other places and feature them in a special basket in our faith corner during the month of May.  This list doesn't include all the Bible story books we have that also of course feature Mary, but those are going to have to be saved for another post. 

Update: Here's a few more books in a simple list. These contain Amazon affiliate links, meaning that I earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my link:

Just Like Mary- Gortler, Rosemarie
Our Blessed Mother: The Story of Mary for Children- Orfeo, Christina Virginia
The Lady of Guadalupe- de Paola, Tomie

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Tomie de Paola

Mary Stories from the Bible

Mary Holds My Hand- Chronister, Michelle

Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children- Pressprich, Colleen

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Story Book- Windeatt, Mary Fabyan (and series)
Mary's Story- Boss, Sarah Jane

Our Lady's Wardrobe- DeStefano, Anthony
Take it to the Queen- Nobisso, Josephine

On a Mission to Love- Staresinic, Debbie

On a Mission to Love: Rosary Flash Cards- Debbie Staresinic

Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Graphic Novel- Muglia, Natalie

Our Lady of Fatima: The Graphic Novel- Estrada, Sam

The Woman in the Trees- Bell, Theoni

And here's an updated list from 2023:

These Catholic Story Coloring Books feature various Marian apparitions and are published through TAN books.  I wrote about how I use them in the classroom here, but unfortunately some of them can be hard to find.

Next up, collection of short, simple, and sweet books about Mary from St. Joseph Picture Books.  Quick and easy, I am still ok with my 5th graders reading them to keep them familiar with all of the stories surrounding Mary and her role in Biblical times as well as now.

And, there is definitely Fulton Sheen's Jesus, Son of Mary.  I love using this one as a read aloud.  In Sheen's typical style, the easy to read passages are packed with depth, allowing me to use this picture book to lead 5th grade level discussions on Mary's role as Jesus's Mother, the first Christian, and a model for all of us. 

 My 1947 copy has lovely illustrations, but so does the reprint version. :)

This one was recently acquired.  Mary's Story by Sarah Jane Boss chronicles the story of Mary's life starting with St. Anne and Joachim's desire for a child all the way to her Assumption.  It relies on both Scripture and Tradition , but also weaves some "legend" or the author's generalizations to fill in the blanks.  The text isn't my favorite, but also isn't worrisome.  However, I really like the illustrations.  They are lovely, reverent, detailed, and fresh all at the same time.

 They remind me a bit of Jan Brett's style for tucking more of the story into the margins and edges of pages, in corners and backgrounds.  It reminds me that there is so much of Mary's life that is was hidden, left to our imaginings.

This book, Just Like Mary by Rosemarie Gortler and Donna Piscitelli, is different in that each page (or few pages) tells about an event in Mary's life and then shows how she can be a guide to us in similar situations.

For example, here it recounts Mary & Joseph's flight to Egypt after the birth of Jesus, and how that can show us that we need to listen to God.  I like that it practically shows kiddos how Mary can be a model for our daily lives.

And my favorite Marian picture book by far is Take it to the Queen by Josephine Nobisso.   Gorgeously illustrated, it tells the story of all of Salvation History and the role of Mary as Queen Mother through an allegory that is full of symbolism and creative meaning. 

 "Hidden" images in the illustration point to more Christian truths, and the author even has a list of specific things to look and listen for on the inside covers of the book.  Its lasting message reminds us that Mary is always ready to take our offerings, work, gifts, and our very selves straight to the heart of her Son.

Lots of good reading!  I'd love to hear about your favorite kids' books honoring Mary- what else would you recommend?

 

Way of Light Adult (or Teen) Bible Study

Hey.  Psssst.  It's still Easter.  Did ya know?

My students and I are still discussing (and celebrating) Easter at school using our Way of Light Activities.

In my grown up life, I am talking about the Way of Light as well- this time with the fifity-ish folks that come every week to our Young Adult Bible Study.  It is such a blessing to gather with others to center on God's Word, the Sacraments, and fellowship.

When planning this session of the Bible Study with a dear friend, we threw around a few ideas, and Easter ended up being our hands-down choice.  We developed a study based on both the upcoming Sunday Mass readings during this Liturgical Season of Easter as well as The Way of Light.  We are so excited about the resulting study, and although we are already a few weeks in, we would like to share it here so that someone else can use it.

You could jump in and join us where we are this week (Study 3), or you can file the study away and save it for next Easter, or... you could print this puppy out and use it any time of the year.

Because folks, as Christians, we are an Easter people and alleluia is our song.
(I maybe stole that line from JP2 who stole is from Augustine...)

This study is formatted so that it could be used in several ways. Because of that, I think that it could be used for personal or group study, with an adult group like mine, or even with a youth group.

Here are the details:
-contains seven weeks of study, one two sided printout for each week
-centers around Sunday readings for Year B of the Lectionary (although you really could study these readings any year or anytime of year.)
-includes a list of the fourteen stations in the Way of Light on the back of each week's study along with Scripture References
-lists a theme, Scripture References, and focus on station(s) of the Way of Light for each week
-gives three discussion questions relating and connecting the readings and stations together
-has space for reflections and notes
-You can use all or some of the information, references, or questions.  There is lots of flexibility, which makes it a great fit for a varied group

You can click on any of the images below to download the entire seven week study.

Here is what a sample front page looks like:

and a sample inside page:

and a sample back page:

During this study we are using Lectio Divina, the practice of "Divine Reading" or praying through and with the Scriptures.  If you would like more info on Lectio Divina, this article would be a great place to start.

Click here for a document with guidelines for using Lectio Divina alone or with a group.  It prints out as four bookmarks on a page, perfect to cut up, share, and tuck in a Bible.

I'd love to hear how you are still celebrating Easter, and if this study finds a way to enrich you and/or a group that you are involved in!

The Sound of Easter (and some Divine Mercy activities)

Happy Easter!  If you would like to keep on celebrating the fifty (FIFTY!) days of Easter, how about an Easter playlist?



And, in celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, here are a few activities that you might like:
(Click on the image for the link to the post)

Divine Mercy Watercolor Art:

Pop Out Divine Mercy Chaplet Beads:

Connecting the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Divine Mercy:

Reconciliation and Divine Mercy Lapbook:

Fifty Days of Easter

Easter Sunday may have been a few days ago, but the season of Easter goes on for fifty days.  From now until Pentecost, keep the Risen Christ alive with your kids using some of these activities!

Click on the pictures for the links to the original posts, complete with printables and instructions.

The Way of Light Coloring Book
During Lent, we pray the Way of the Cross, the fourteen stations that tell the story of Jesus' Passion and Death.  During Easter, there is also a set of fourteen stations about the stories that happened between the Resurrection and Pentecost. The Biblical accounts are collected with simple pictures and the Scripture references in this mini coloring book:

 Here you can see a screen shot of the four page printable:

The Way of Light Easter Sunrise
This craft creates a Easter sunrise with a ray of sun for each of the stations of the Way of Light:

The Way of Light Resurrection Eggs
This activity creates a set of Way of Light Easter eggs.  Each egg contains small objects that tell the story of the days of Easter:

The Way of Light Story in a Bag
Using simple objects collected in a bag, this project helps kids be the story tellers of the events of the Easter Season:

Paschal Greeting Printable
The traditional Easter greeting in the form of a simple coloring page, great to hang up in your home or classroom:

Easter Posters
Have some fun with lettering techniques and Scripture verses with special Easter significance while making these Easter posters:

Gospel in an Eggshell
Using tiny objects that fit into a plastic Easter egg, wrap together the story of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection:

New Life Seeds
Connect the death and resurrection of Christ to the growth of seeds this spring time:

Fulton Sheen Quote Coloring Page
"Unless there is a cross in our lives, there will never be an empty tomb; unless there is a crown of thorns, there will never be the halo of light; unless there is a Good Friday, there will never be an Easter Sunday."

Resurrection Eggs
These eggs contain small objects and strips of Scripture that tell the story of Holy Week:

What Easter Looks Like Printable
Black & white and color printable of the symbols of the Easter season:

Regina Coeli Mini Book
During the season of Easter, we do not continue to pray the Angelus, but instead pray the Regina Coeli.  This mini book contains the prayer, some explanations, definitions of words, and pictures to color:

Debunking Resurrection Theories
This graphic organizer contains several of the theories that try to explain away the idea of the Resurrection of Christ.  It could be used as a discussion starter for a middle or high school youth group study on the truth of the Resurrection.

I wish you and the kids in your lives a very blessed Easter season!